Communications Specialist

Yarra Valley Water Corporation; Melbourne; Hybrid; AUD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible working

On-site parking

14 weeks paid parental leave

15 days paid personal leave

Public holiday swap option

Job summary

Yarra Valley Water is seeking a strategic and creative Communications Specialist to shape how we connect with customers, staff and communities. You’ll lead initiatives that strengthen our brand, influence perceptions, and support organisational goals, delivering plans from planning to delivery across channels.

You’ll collaborate with brand, digital, and stakeholder teams to ensure consistent messages, provide trusted advice, turn complex information into clear content, and manage multiple

Qualifications

• Proven experience delivering communication strategies and plans.
• Exceptional written communication across multiple channels.
• Ability to translate complex information into clear messages.
• Strong stakeholder engagement and advisory skills.
• Proven project management in fast-moving environments.
• Hands-on communicator able to lead projects.
• Experience creating content for web, intranet, social media.
• Strategic mindset with ability to develop tactics and content.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic communications guidance for key initiatives.
• Develop and implement internal and external communication plans.
• Lead projects across channels including web, social and internal engagement.
• Create clear, engaging written and visual content to build trust.
• Advise stakeholders, balancing clarity, risk and brand reputation.
• Manage multiple projects with competing priorities and timelines.
• Monitor and evaluate communication effectiveness, driving improvement.
• Ensure all communications follow brand voice and guidelines.

Skills

Strategy development

Content writing

Stakeholder engagement

Project management

Brand alignment

Creative thinking

Tools

CMS

Job description

• True hybrid working - work from home and our Mitcham office

The Role

We're looking for a strategic and creative Communications Specialist to help shape how we connect with our customers, staff, and communities. You'll lead communication initiatives that strengthen our brand, influence perceptions, and support organisational goals.

In the role, you'll manage projects from planning to delivery, craft clear and compelling content across multiple channels, and provide trusted advice to internal stakeholders. You'll need to think strategically, manage competing priorities, and turn complex information into messages that are easy to understand and act on.

You'll collaborate closely with project teams, brand and design, digital, and stakeholder teams to make sure communications are consistent, effective, and build trust and engagement.

About Us

We're on a mission to create a brighter future, where you can be a change maker at the actual source. We're one of Australia's largest water utilities with over 30% of Victoria's population relying on us for their essential water and sanitation services.

Our award-winning culture fosters an inclusive, collaborative, and flexible environment that enables our people to thrive. Here, you'll be inspired and challenged to grow alongside us.

We're committed to reconciliation and supporting the self-determined role for Traditional Owners/Custodians in water and land management.

Your Key Responsibilities

• Provide strategic communications expertise, guidance and advice to key business initiatives.
• Develop and implement communication plans for internal and external audiences, aligned to corporate strategy or content strategy objectives.
• Lead communication projects across multiple channels, including web, social, internal engagement, and customer communications.
• Create clear, engaging written and visual content that builds trust, reputation and engagement.
• Act as a trusted advisor to stakeholders, constructively challenging messaging to balance clarity, risk and brand reputation.
• Manage multiple projects, balancing priorities and timelines effectively.
• Monitor and evaluate communication effectiveness, using insights to drive continuous improvement.
• Ensure all communications align with brand guidelines, tone of voice and style.

What we're Looking for

• Demonstrated experience developing and delivering communication strategies and plans.
• Exceptional written communication skills, including creating accessible, plain-English content for multiple channels.
• Ability to translate complex information into messages that are easy to understand and act on.
• Strong stakeholder engagement skills, with the ability to influence and advise at all levels of the organisation.
• Demonstrated project management expertise, manage multiple projects and competing priorities in complex, fast-moving environments.
• Hands-on communicator, comfortable leading projects and being on the tools.
• Experience producing content for web, intranet, social media, and internal/external communications.
• Strong critical thinking and an inquisitive mindset who can strategise communications concepts and create the plans, tactics and content to deliver them successfully.
• Confident asking questions and challenging assumptions.
• Experience in government, higher education, essential services, or regulated sectors - advantageous.

Why Yarra Valley Water?

We celebrate and encourage new thinking at every level. Creating opportunities for you to grow - both professionally, and personally. When you flourish, we all do.

• Flexible working arrangements where our people are empowered to design their days with their team.
• Free and secure on-site parking with on-site café at our Mitcham office.
• 14 weeks paid leave parental leave.
• 15 days paid personal leave, which can be used for caring, wellbeing, mental health, menstrual or menopause.
• Request to swap certain public holidays for another day of paid leave.

Did you Know?

Research shows that men apply to jobs when they meet an average of 60% of the criteria, while women and other marginalised people tend to only apply when they meet all of them. So, if you think you have what it takes, but don't necessarily tick every box, please apply or get in touch. We'd love to have a chat and see if you could be a great fit.

This position is available for Yarra Valley Water employees and external applicants.

We welcome applications from everyone, including Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples, people with disability, mature age and young job seekers, members of the LGBTIQA+ community and people of all cultural backgrounds.

If you need this information in an accessible format or would like to discuss reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process. Please call 03 9872 2*** or email ***@yvw.com.au.

If you need any help with the application process or would like to discuss the recruitment process, please contact us via email *******@yvw.com.au.

Successful applicants must be eligible to work in Australia and agree to provide information for pre-employment checks, if required for the position. This may also include a Police Check or AusCheck, where an offer will be subject to a satisfactory outcome of these checks.

Yarra Valley Water is recognised by Australian Disability Network as a Disability Confident Recruiter employer.